The July 2012 BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey reports that hire rates for the month of May saw little change when compared to the same statistic from 2011. However, one notable exception can be found in the area of Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities. This group of sub-industries experienced a 1.1% hiring rate increase over May 2011 with a 3.7% of all hires made in May 2012 falling into this industry breakout- approximately 180,000 individuals hired throughout the month.

While this industry is traditionally paid lower than many other hourly positions, a jump in hiring could reflect an increased demand for some of these more physically demanding jobs in the private sector. Reporting hourly wage data from the second half of January 2012, the 2012 ERC Wage Survey did in fact see a modest increase in pay for a number of these positions. For example, a Warehouse Worker earned a median salary $13.68, which is up about 12% from the 2011 survey results. Other positions, such as Drivers (Heavy: $16.25 and Local: $16.80) and Fork Lift Operators ($15.00) saw slightly lower improvements in wages, but do appear to be trending consistently upwards over the past several years.

There is probably no task more cumbersome for HR professionals than managing intermittent leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Intermittent leave allows qualified employees to take FMLA leave in small blocks of time (such as one hour) versus one block of 12 weeks.

Although intermittent leave can benefit employees who need time off work for their own health condition or to help with another family member's serious health condition, it can create burdens and adversity for employers if it isn't managed appropriately. The following administrative strategies tend to help employers manage intermittent leave more effectively.

1. Require medical certification.

You have the right to determine that intermittent leave is medically necessary. You can require medical certification to be submitted in order to make this determination and request multiple medical opinions. Doing so gives you some control over the situation and helps you understand the frequency and duration of intermittent leave needed by the employee.

2. Ask for recertification.

Requiring employees to recertify their leave when the condition changes or according to a certain period (such as every 6 months or annually) helps keep employees honest and makes sure you stay knowledgeable about the condition's status and any changes needed for the leave.

3. Have employees use paid leave concurrently with FMLA leave.

Requiring use of concurrent paid leave, disability, etc. curbs the adverse effects of excessive absenteeism. If you don't require use of concurrent leave, you may risk an employee using more than the allotted 12 weeks of leave provided under FMLA.

4. Use a rolling 12-month period to calculate FMLA leave.

Calculating FMLA leave on a calendar 12-month basis can lead to employees taking back-to-back leave and potentially provides 24 weeks or 6 months of FMLA to an employee. Conversely, calculating FMLA on a rolling 12-month period can prevent back-to-back leave.

5. Accommodate the employee to reduce disruptions.

You may assign an employee to an alternative position with equivalent pay and benefits to better accommodate intermittent leave. You may also work with them to establish an intermittent leave schedule that reduces the leave's disruptions to your business operations. Remember, it's completely legal to request that the employee make a reasonable effort not to disrupt your business operations.

6. Establish guidelines for call-offs.

Call-offs can disrupt business, so provide requirements that employees must call in before they are absent if they are going to be using FMLA leave. You may also request that employees provide notice of unforeseeable leave as soon as practicable.

7. Track leave and absences.

You may request recertification from health care providers when you notice a pattern of absences which could suggest that an employee is abusing intermittent leave. Also, be aware that not tracking FMLA may lead you to provide more than the required amount of leave. Make sure nothing goes uncounted, and if you don't have the time to track it, consider outsourcing FMLA.

While these strategies won't necessarily reduce the number of employees using FMLA leave, they will typically help your organization avoid the costly consequences of mismanaged intermittent FMLA leave.

Please note that by providing you with research information that may be contained in this article, ERC is not providing a qualified legal opinion. As such, research information that ERC provides to its members should not be relied upon or considered a substitute for legal advice. The information that we provide is for general employer use and not necessarily for individual application.

ADA & FMLA Compliance Training Course

Participants review the interrelatedness of these two laws including how they impact each other.

ERC has partnered with PartnerShip® (www.PartnerShip.com/09ERC), a leading provider of shipping solutions, to offer its members discounted pricing on shipping. ERC members will save:

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“We’re thrilled to offer this solution to our members as it can save them a lot of time and money,” said Pat Perry, President of ERC. “The best part is that it can be utilized by organizations of any size; there is no minimum requirement and no limit to the amount you can save.”

Visit PartnerShip.com/09ERC for complete program information and to enroll in the free ERC Shipping Program. Members with existing FedEx shipping accounts can also enroll and PartnerShip will ensure they receive the lowest rates on every shipment. If you have any questions, please call PartnerShip at 800-599-2902, or email sales@PartnerShip.com. For no-obligation tradeshow shipping quotes, visit here (and be sure to mention you are with ERC).

In its 20th year, the Lake-Geauga Fast Track 50 Award once again recognizes the 50 fastest growing companies in Lake and Geauga Counties. Winners of the award are based on average sales and employment growth from 2007 through 2011. The most current nomination form can be found online at: www.fasttrack50.org.

To be eligible to receive the award, companies must be located in the two-county region, be organized as a for-profit business, and must have a sales profit for 2007 of at least $100,000.

Winning companies were honored at a recognition dinner on November 1, 2012 at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites LaMalfa in Mentor and were featured in The News-Herald.

Fast Track 50 was founded in 1993 when Peter Ferrante, Greg Skoda and representatives from Huntington National Bank met to talk about the unique small businesses that they served as clients. A formal program was then developed to honor the 50 fastest growing companies in the Lake-Geauga county region. The annual awards banquet is attended by nearly 400 members of the business community and local government officials.

The 2012 program is sponsored by Benjamin F. Edwards & Co., Huntington Bank, Lakeland Community College, The News-Herald, and Skoda Minotti.

Nearly 300 companies have been recognized since the award’s inception in 1993. For a complete listing of these companies, or to nominate a deserving company, please visit www.fasttrack50.org. For questions, please contact Jen Brawner of Skoda Minotti at 440-449-6800.

On June 28th, 2012, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court that the individual mandate portion of the health care reform law (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), which requires that most Americans buy health insurance or pay a fine, is constitutional as a tax.

The Court agreed that while Congress could not use its power to regulate commerce between states to require individuals to buy health insurance, Congress could impose a tax penalty using its tax power for individuals who refuse to buy health insurance.

Because the mandate is constitutional, the Court did not need to determine whether other parts of the law were constitutional, according to the SCOTUS Blog.

The individual mandate was set to be implemented in 2014, however, many provisions of the health care reform law had already gone into effect in 2012. The ruling suggests that employers will still be responsible for the carrying out the provisions of the law which affect their organizations.

For more information about the Supreme Court decision, please visit the links below.

The Department of Labor's final rules under the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) start became effective July of 2012. These rules are intended to enhance the transparency of fees and other compensation with service providers. They will help employers and their employees better understand how much their retirement plan truly costs and the value/level of service they are receiving from their vendor/service provider.

Many employers are unaware of their responsibilities as ERISA fiduciaries. Most are neither trained nor skilled to interpret vendor reports, monitor service levels or fees, and ask the probing questions necessary to fulfill their fiduciary duties. Employers may need to retain professional advisors to implement a strategy of compliance and procedural prudence to manage their plans.

Dave Kulchar, Executive Vice President and Director of Retirement Plan Services at Oswald Financial, Inc. explains that there are two phases in the implementation of these rules. He says, "Phase one requires service providers to disclose all costs to plan sponsors beginning on July 1st. Phase two requires plan sponsors to deliver this information to plan participants, effective August 1st."

The new requirements often are explained in a complex manner that are difficult for organizations to understand so we've simplified them to summarize 4 of the most critical action steps you need to take to comply with these new requirements.

1. Make sure you receive the necessary disclosures.

Employers must make sure that they have received all of the required disclosure information from their covered service providers (auditors, record keepers, custodians, actuaries, advisors etc.). If the required information is not received by July 1, 2012, then the employer has an obligation to request the information in writing. Without the required information in hand, any fees paid to those service providers may be considered prohibited transactions under ERISA and employers can be held liable for civil penalties or excise taxes.

2. Evaluate and benchmark fees from your vendors.

The new rules of 2012 require covered service providers of ERISA-covered defined benefit and defined contribution plans to provide employers with the information necessary for them to evaluate whether fees paid to service providers are reasonable when compared to those paid by other similar plans and determine if any conflicts of interest may impact a service provider's performance under a service arrangement. Information that must be disclosed includes:

A description of all services to be provided to the plan

All compensation it expects to receive, including direct and indirect compensations

The manner in which compensation will be received by the service provider

A description of whether the services provided are fiduciary services or services under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940

Information about conflicts of interest

This information will be necessary to evaluate and benchmark their fees against other service providers in the market to determine whether they are reasonable or not, and to understand if the fees are in line with those paid by similar plans. Organizations will need to make sure that they aren't paying unreasonably high fees for their retirement plan's services and document their analysis and review.

Why is benchmarking necessary? As plan fiduciaries, employers must evaluate their providers regularly in terms of their cost and competence to avoid liability, even if they are satisfied with their provider and aren't considering a change. In addition, employers should be wary of simply choosing the least costly service providers and evaluate their competence and level of service to protect themselves from potential liability.

3. Communicate fees to employees.

Effective August 1, 2012, employers need to communicate and report these disclosed fees to employees participating in the retirement plan. Under these rules, employers are also required to provide ongoing disclosure to plan participants on quarterly statements going forward. It is important to note that this communication is the responsibility of plan sponsors - not plan service providers.

These disclosures must include an explanation of fees and expenses charged or deducted from participants' accounts as well as general information about the plan's structure and operation. "In some cases, employers will need to combine all of the information disclosed by various service providers and vendors in order to communicate it to employees," Kulchar explains.

In terms of how fees should be communicated, Kulchar advises, "Employers must communicate disclosed fees on paper unless they meet the necessary qualifications to disclose them online, which in many situations may be difficult to meet. Also, there is no set format and communications can look different, but fees must be expressed in a flat dollar figure and percentage."

4. Anticipate and answer employee questions.

Employers need to anticipate and answer employee questions about the reports that they distribute on fees. They should be prepared for employees to request assistance in understanding the information being disclosed to them about the fees. Employers should also expect that employees will inquire about why they hired particular service providers and be in a position to justify and explain the fees and expenses that must be disclosed on a comprehensive basis for the first time. They may even consider providing a list of FAQs to employees when this information is disclosed.

"Currently, 72% of employees don't think they are paying anything for their retirement plan. As a result, employers should be prepared to receive and answer questions like 'Is this new?,' 'How long have we being paying this?,' 'Is this competitive?,' 'What's being charged?,' and 'Is this reasonable?,'" says Kulchar.

Although the 2012 legislation changes on retirement plans create new duties and responsibilities for employers, they provide an opportunity for employers to better understand the true costs of their plans and fees paid to providers and help employees better understand their plans as well.

Please note that by providing you with research information that may be contained in this article, ERC is not providing a qualified legal opinion. As such, research information that ERC provides to its members should not be relied upon or considered a substitute for legal advice. The information that we provide is for general employer use and not necessarily for individual application.

Here in Northeast Ohio the prominence of our healthcare industry is often touted as one of the region’s greatest strengths. In terms of sheer volume, health care represents a significant proportion of the workforce- approximately 16% according to the 2012 Current Employment Statistics survey for non-agricultural jobs in the Cleveland-Elyria-mentor Metropolitan Statistic Area (MSA).

However, for those 155,400 individuals employed in healthcare/social assistance, being part of the workforce for this booming industry does not always translate into higher levels of compensation. In fact, using data from several ERC Compensation Surveys to perform an occupation specific analysis for 40 job categories placed two occupational subcategories within the healthcare industry, i.e. Patient/Client Services and Social Work, among the 10 lowest paying job categories in Northeast Ohio. Conversely, Clinical Healthcare Practitioners and Nurses came in as two of the 10 highest paying job categories in the region according to this 2012 data.

Nursing, coming in as the fourth highest paid occupation in the analysis, is one of only a few positions that pay above the national median salary reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As noted in a recent article from Crain’s Cleveland Business, registered nurses in particular can expect to remain in high demand across local healthcare systems. Clearly this demand for specialized, skilled talent is a key factor driving up rates of compensation within Nursing and among Clinical Healthcare Practitioners more generally.

At the opposite end of the spectrum the Patient/Client Services category includes a wide variety of jobs in healthcare, but with two important items in common, fairly low education and skill requirements and often highly repetitive job duties. A notable exception to this generalization that lower skills equate to lower pay, is in the field of Social Work. According to the 2011 ERC Non-Profit Benefits Survey, one way organizations often look to counteract this low market valuation of Health and Human Services positions such as Social Workers is to offer a unique array of other non-cash benefits that serve to enhance the total rewards package employees in these positions receive.

Additional Resources

ERC Non-Profit Compensation & Benefits SurveysERC, in partnership with United Way of Greater Cleveland, has created compensation and benefits surveys to help non-profits in Northeast Ohio gauge their compensation and benefits practices. Through this exclusive partnership, United Way Agencies that participate in these surveys will receive the survey results for no cost. Participate in our Compensation and Benefit Surveys by clicking here.

*The average median base salary figure for each occupation was calculated using data excerpts from the following surveys conducted by ERC: 2012 ERC Salary Survey, 2012 ERC Wage Survey and 2011 ERC Non-Profit Compensation Survey. Please note that the salary figure reported for each occupational category is an average of median salaries across applicable job titles from entry level up through management level positions.

Data from the 2012 ERC Pay Adjustment & Incentive Practices Survey indicates that the increases being projected by Northeast Ohio employers are representative of a larger national trend of compensation practices. Of the 114 participating organizations, 89% are projecting salary and wage increases for 2012, a record high level since 2009 when only 45% of survey participants projected increases. This improvement falls just short of improvements found in national data reported by SHRM in an article from 2011. Read this article...

Paid time off policies (PTO), managing absenteeism, and administering summer holidays like July 4th are always common issues for employers during the summer months. Here are 12 answers to common questions about PTO and summer holidays to help your organization navigate these challenges and create a competitive PTO plan.

1. Are employers required to provide paid federal holidays or PTO?

No employer is required to pay for time off on holidays, but there are many holidays that employers choose to observe and pay employees. Similarly, there is no requirement that employers must provide PTO, but it's generally an HR essential to attract and retain good employees.

2. What is the average number of paid holidays provided?

The average number of paid holidays offered by employers is 9-10. Usually organizations provide at least 5 paid holidays, however we've seen organizations provide as many as 15. Additionally, nearly 40% of employers offer at least one floating holiday each year, according to our most recent Paid Holiday Survey.

3. Should we credit paid holidays that occur over a vacation?

Generally-speaking, yes. It's a good practice to credit PTO if a paid holiday occurs over a vacation. For example, if employees take July 2nd through July 6th off work and July 4th is a paid holiday observed by your organization, this day would be credited back to the employee's vacation or PTO bank.

4. How should we handle employees who take off unscheduled days before or after holidays?

A main way that employers deal with this problem is to state in their attendance or paid time off policy that patterned absences such as before or after holidays or weekends are considered unexcused absences and may be subject to discipline. Employers can also require time off to be approved. The best way to prevent this from happening is to cover it in your policy and enforce it consistently.

5. What are some reasons for considering PTO plans versus vacation and sick time?

PTO plans lump all time off into one bucket, versus separate buckets of time off for different types of leave like vacation, sick leave, and personal time (and typically excluding holidays, bereavement leave, jury duty, etc.). PTO plans allow employees to use days off for any reason and as a result tend to make the administrative process of managing and tracking time off easier. The focus of PTO is not on managing the reasons for the absence, but rather giving employees the freedom to use their time as they see fit. More employers are moving to PTO plans for these reasons.

6. How many PTO days do organizations typically give?

The standard across most benefits surveys is providing 10 vacation days after at least 1 year of service, 15 vacation days after 5 years of service, 18 vacation days after 10 years of service, and 20 vacation days after 15 years of service. Maximum amounts of vacation days are typically between 20-25 days, but vary greatly by employer. If sick and personal days are also included (such as in PTO plans) the number of days provided typically increases by 3-5 days at each interval. Vacation or PTO time is generally based on anniversary hire date or calendar year.

7. Should we consider unlimited vacation time?

Unlimited vacation time is becoming more popular, particularly among progressive employers and for salaried/exempt employees. There are many perks of unlimited vacation time if your culture is conducive to it. Not only does it eliminate the need to track time off and administer cumbersome details, but it gives employees more freedom to take personal time off and is an attractive benefit.

On the flip side, unlimited vacation time typically is difficult to administer with hourly workers and doesn't work effectively if your organization does not have the right employees on deck to responsibly handle this freedom or a culture that values results over hours worked. It also can make it difficult to monitor the reasons for employees' absences which can trigger your responsibilities under certain laws like ADA and FMLA.

8. How much time-off should new-hires receive?

New-hires typically receive between 5-10 days of vacation. In some companies, particularly those administering PTO plans which include sick and personal days, 10-15 days is more common. Allowing accrual and use of PTO to begin within the first 30 days of employment for new-hires versus after the traditional 90 day period is becoming a more common trend among employers.

9. What should we consider when developing a PTO donation program?

PTO donation programs which allow employees to voluntarily transfer PTO hours to qualified employees experiencing either their own medical hardship or one in their immediate family, are becoming popular. When developing these programs, employers should:

determine who is eligible to receive PTO donations - define specific circumstances, length of time expected to be absent, etc.

create an application to determine eligibility and a donation form indicating how many hours donating employees will provide

work out administrative details - such as how and when paid time off will be transferred and who is responsible for taxes incurred

10. How many PTO carry-over days should we allow?

The majority of employers have a use-it or lose-it policy where unused time off is forfeited at the end the end of the year, but many allow carry-over of unused time for future use. While allowing modest carry-over of vacation time from year to year is somewhat common, allowing too much accrued leave could potentially be a financial burden if it compounds over several years and you must pay out this leave when the employee terminates employment with the organization. It also may result in an extended leave because time is combined from one year to the next.

As a result, if carry-over days are allowed, it may be worthwhile to specify if days must be taken by a certain date, how many days can be carried over from year to year, and a maximum allowable time off period (i.e. 2 weeks).

11. Should employees be able to cash out their unused time?

Sometimes employers allow employees to "cash in" their accrued vacation hours at their full value or at a lesser cash value (such as 50% or 70%, if allowed according to state law). There are, however, extra payouts associated with this option and employers must determine if the payment will be calculated based on the employee's current base pay and/or base pay after pay enhancement, etc. This option is by no means common, but is a nice perk to offer employees as part of your PTO plan.

12. Do we need to pay out vacation time upon termination?

Finally, employers often inquire about if they need to pay out vacation time after an employee has been terminated. Accrued vacation or paid time off is normally paid to employees who leave the company voluntarily or involuntarily. Termination payments, however, are governed by state law. Here is Ohio's stance on payout of paid time off upon termination.

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